Winnipeg considers vests, other safety measure for transit employees | Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeg Transit inspectors might quickly get protective vests that safeguard against knives and even bullets, if a list of proposed security efforts are approved in the city’s 2019 budget.A new transit security report demands that the budget supply $63,000 for such garments, together with$1 million to change administrative/control centre radios,$1.1 million to install LTE modems throughout the Transit fleet and $100,000 to work with a specialist to produce a long-lasting security plan.As formerly reported, a $3.15-million proposition to add motorist safety guards on all 630 Winnipeg Transit buses over one year is also set to be submitted for 2019 spending plan approval, pending a council vote.Transit’s operations manager said the city anticipates its vests will supply the very best security possible for the inspectors, who are tasked with providing a security existence on buses. “We were searching for … something that provides slash-resistance and stab-resistance also,”said Randy Tonnellier.” This ballistic-grade vest will offer all of that and likewise give security against bullets, too, which is less of an issue for us. We wanted to have the very best vest we could out there for our inspectors.” Tonnellier said the control centre radio replacement would upgrade obsolete devices, while the modem project would offer a Web connection for each bus.”That (permits )the possibility for a live video feed from our buses to our control centre(and) it will improve the reliability of our GPS system,”said Tonnellier.The Winnipeg Association of Public Service Officers(WAPSO), which represents the inspectors, welcomed the protective vest proposition.”Needs to an incident happen where there’s a capacity of violence, it’s literally a protective layer in assistance

of workplace safety,” stated Keith Bellamy, WAPSO’s executive director.Bellamy kept in mind the city has actually taken a number of measures to enhance Winnipeg Transit security considering that driver Irvine Fraser was stabbed to death on his bus on Feb. 14, 2017.”There’s a great deal of great and strong initiatives that have been previously undertaken but I believe everybody is agreeing that there is more to be done,”he said.The security proposal is set for discussion at the Feb. 5 conference of council’s public works committee.Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface), council’s public works chair, stated it’s too quickly to say which exact propositions should be moneyed this year. “All these initiatives, I believe, are excellent and all of

them have an impact. Our job, as a spending plan committee, now is to determine how best to have the best effect with a restricted variety of dollars,” said Allard.Transit is likewise evaluating how and when to change the aging radio interactions system its fleet counts on, an effort anticipated to cost about$10 million.Tonnellier stated that major job would likely take years to finish.